Bring Out The Light In Me
by ForgottenForeverByHeart
Summary: Edward hasn't discovered 'vegetarianism' . After attacking Bella, Alice helps him come to terms with what he's done and eventually he must make the choice. Which is more tempting, her blood or her body?
1. Visions

**Summary - Edward hasn't discovered 'vegetarianism' . Bella's out alone in the woods and Edward attacks. Alice has had visions of Edward joining the Cullen's for months and has to race to stop him killing the one person that could turn his life around. As Edward helps Bella recover he has to decide the answer to one of the hardest questions he's ever had to ask himself. What ****is**** more tempting, her blood or her body****?**

**A/N-So! I return with a new fic! A little more structured and interesting than the others I have to say, Hope you enjoy ;)**

* * *

My eyes were glued to the window as the last of Phoenix disappeared from my eyesight. I sighed deeply, desperately trying to convince myself that I was doing the right thing. It would be selfish to stay with my mother and make her unhappy, while my father was alone. Nothing of consequence would change, I had no friends in Phoenix and most likely would not gain any in Dickinson, my father's new home. They split up when I was four and Charlie decided that moving to North Dakota would help him get over my mother. It didn't. Slowly, as Phoenix grew further and further away, my eyes slid closed and I began to dream about the flat planes of my new home.

* * *

The plane landed with a jolt, awaking me violently from my slumber. I blinked, slightly disorientated as to where I was. As my mind slowly came around, I glanced out the window. Even though it was June, the sky was overcast, and buckets full of rain were pouring down. I sighed, this was what life was going to be like now I guess, constantly living in a paddling pool.

I made my way blearily off the plane, trying to pick my fathers face out of the crowd. I hadn't seen him for years and I couldn't say that I could recall his face in perfect clarity. I carried on spinning in a circle, trying to pick out a face that seemed vaguely familiar, until a middle-aged man walked up to me.

"Bella?" He asked, his voice cracking, as if he was trying to stop himself from crying. I spun around to face him, a thousand memories flooding my mind.

"Dad?" I asked, I couldn't believe it had been so long since I had last seen him. I was fourteen now and hadn't seen him since I was ten, the years had passed like weeks, and yet looking back now, I couldn't believe how much had happened.

"So," He swallowed, trying tor regain his composure. "How've you been?" As he said this he began to guide me towards he exit.

"Good," I nodded. "Yes, I've been very good thank you, how about you?" Conversation certainly didn't flow easily, but I know that silence didn't bother me and after living with my mother for years I had learnt that I hadn't inherited that trait from her.

"I've been..," He looked away suddenly and I guessed he was trying to hide his tears. "Fine,"

And that was the extent of our conversation for the entire car journey to his house. He lived a little way out of Dickinson, in a soliary red brick bungalow, with a small garden at the rear. Between us we brought all of my clothes into the house in one trip, I travelled light. Extremely so.

Charlie helped me carry my bags to the guest room and, after a little small talk, left to watch a baseball game on the TV. I put my things away slowly glancing around the room. I could tell that this was the master bedroom as I had glanced into Charlie's room as he pointed it out when we walked past, this was the only one big enough to house a double bed. With a start I realised that Charlie was missing my mother a _lot_ more than I had anticipated, so much so that he couldn't even sleep in a double bed without her. I sighed, love was so complicated. Could there never be a time when you simply saw the one person you were supposed to be with forever? No complications, no heartbreak?

The evening consisted of nothing else to note. Charlie cooked us dinner, although I discovered the extent of his cooking skills was beans on toast, if you were lucky, a little ham too. We sat together in the living room and watched the television for the remainder of the evening, although I went upstairs after a while to fetch a book. But it was good to spend time with my father. I went up to bed early as I had my first day of school tomorrow. Charlie wished me well as he would be gone before I got up tomorrow. He was the police chief of a small village nearby, he could have gone for a job in Dickinson, but he decided that he preferred to know everyone and everything about the people he was protecting.

It took a while, but eventually I fell into a dreamless slumber.

* * *

**APOV**

The vision was fuzzy, like another decision had to be made before it could turn into reality. But if I squinted hard enough I could just about make it out.

_'Edward was lying with a teenage girl, she looked about his age. They stared into each others eyes with such love it almost made me want to cry, if I could.  
"I love you..." Edward murmured.'_

And that was it, like a light switch being shut off. And I returned to reality. Jasper was sitting in front of me, an expectant look upon his face.

"Are-" I cut him off, already knowing what he was going to say.

"Can you get everyone to meet in the dining hall, please?" I said quickly, anxious. He just nodded, looking curiously at me, startled by my tone.

I lay back down upon the bed whilst I heard the commotion going on downstairs, everyone was asking Jasper questions but he knew no more than any of them. I sighed and went to join them so I could explain.

"You know the non 'vegetarian' vampire that's coming to join us?" I began.

"Edward, yes," Emmett replied impatiently. "Do you know yet when he'll be joining us?"

"A few weeks," I replied, tapping my foot. "Now, if you'd let me FINISH. I think... He might... Maybe... Have a mate?" I ended it as a question as the vision had been so fuzzy that in truth... I didn't really know.

"So, we shall have two new comers then ?" Carlisle asked. I shook my head frowning.

"I don't know," I replied honestly. "Another decision has to be made before I know if she's going to be coming or not, the vision was very fuzzy. But, there's something else you need to know about her..." I hesitated, unsure of how to approach the topic.

"What is it, Alice?" Rosalie asked cautiously.

"She's a human."

* * *

**BPOV**

I awoke to another overcast day, grey clouds churning at a height so close, if I didn't know better I would have thought I could touch them. As Charlie had predicted, he had already left for work by the time I got up. My school was only a little way down the road, so I didn't need to worry about getting a lift from anyone. I got ready for school slowly, dreading the day ahead. There were so many ways that I would no doubt embarrass myself. I dressed myself simply, in skinny jeans, plain blue vest top and a black cardigan with some black ballet flats, I didn't want to stand out too much. I grabbed my new school bag and headed for the door grabbing the keys as I went.

I began my short journey to school, looking around at the surroundings of my new home. I began to get lost in daydreams of the blistering heat and cacti of Phoenix, of home. My feet moved by their own accord, somehow remembering the directions that Charlie had given me last night. I rounded the last corner and spotted the school. A small building stood ahead of me, raised slightly as it was upon a small hill. A wooden sign stood in front of it proclaiming it to be 'Dickinson High School', I sighed and began to trudge up the hill, it was just beginning to rain, again. Once at the school entrance, I stood to the side and watched as crowds of friends flooded into school, chatting and laughing. Friendship had never been one of my strongest points, and, as strange as it sounded, I found it fascinating to watch people interact so easily among one another, something seemingly impossible for me to do. I pressed back into the wall further as a crowd of boisterous jocks pushed their way past me. One held my gaze, blue eyes and with floppy blonde hair, I guess what some girls may have called 'the dream guy', he winked and walked off. I simply rolled my eyes, boys like that, ninety-nine percent of the time anyway, were complete and utter idiots who had no brain. I left a small amount of time between us, and followed the signs towards the office.

* * *

Two trips, one embarrassing conversation with a receptionist later and I was making my way towards my first lesson. My plan of 'not standing out too much' had failed completely, on the most part because I had fallen over in _the _most crowded place at _the _most crowded time. I now had a pronounced blush on my cheeks, and not an hour had gone past of me being here. I wandered down the corridors, looking for a room with 'S2' on the door, it was chemistry first, and I didn't want to miss it. I wandered around aimlessly as the crowds thinned out, leaving me alone in the corridor, the echo of my footsteps becoming eerily loud. Soon, I heard the click of heels approaching.

"Are you lost?" A voice asked from behind me.

"Completely," I answered without turning around. Cringing internally at accepting help from somebody else. I liked to be independent, and hated it when I had to rely upon others.

The click of heels grew louder until they were beside me. "Where do you need to go?" The woman asked.

"S2," I answered, desperately trying not to clench my teeth.

"This way," She replied kindly, seemingly oblivious to my hostile voice. She led me down the winding labyrinth of corridors until we reached a science lab, I never shared another word with her, I didn't look up either.

"Thankyou," I said, not meeting her gaze.

She didn't reply, simply pushing the door open for me and shutting it swiftly behind my back. The entire class was gaping at me. I wasn't particularly tall and as they were sitting at lab tables, I only felt smaller. I blushed and searched the room for the teacher. A middle aged man stood at the front, glaring at me. A huge beer belly spilt over the waistband of his trousers and small mole-like eyes peeped out above a set of thin rimmed glasses.

"Who might you be?" He asked, intimidating me further as he walked towards me.

"Isabella... Swan?" I was so nervous, I couldn't remember what my own name was. My face must have looked like a tomato.

"Are you new?" He asked dismissively, obviously already knowing the answer.

"Yes, sir," I answered quickly. "Sorry I'm late, I got lost on the way...,"

"Very well, my name is Mr. Butler. Take a seat," He replied, walking away towards the front of the class as he spoke.

And so my day began.

* * *

**APOV**

_The blush was beautiful as he stroked her cheek gently, murmuring quietly into her ear._

And it finished.

I turned to face Jasper. "I'm getting worried...," I trailed off, a frown on my face.

"Why? What's happened?" He questioned, tilting my chin up gently so that I was looking him in the eye.

"The visions of Edward and his mate are getting shorter and shorter, and becoming harder to see,"

"Maybe that's a good thing...," Jasper looked away this time, his eyebrows knitted together. The thought of having a human among us had troubled him greatly, especially if Edward, who, even though none of us had met him, already seemed like a brother to us, loved her.

"No it's not," I said resolutely. "The tenor I'm getting from the interference, it's not good. The decision that has to be made first, it's... important," I sighed, frustrated. "I _hate _not knowing things,"

"Sometimes, ignorance is bliss," Jasper replied, smiling. I just rolled my eyes at him. "Now, where were we before Edward so _rudely _interrupted?" Jasper growled.

I pounced on Jasper as he sent a wave of lust through my body. But the worry still remained, a thorn in the back of my mind, an uncomfortable burden which nobody could even try to comprehend, my gift could be a curse at times.

* * *

**BPOV**

Hours dragged by slowly, teachers droning on in the same monotone voice. It seemed that rain had washed away any traces of a personality they may previously have owned. It was now lunchtime and I followed the larger portion of the student body to what I hoped would be the cafeteria. I pushed my way through two large wooden doors and, sure enough, I was in the cafeteria. People bustled past me, rushing forwards to greet their groups of friends as I stood there, uncertain and hoping in vain for an entire table to become free so that I could simply sit by myself. A few were now beginning to stare, realising that I was 'The New Girl'. Somebody flew into my back a full speed, knocking me to the ground, face first. The entire hall went silent, and then burst into loud fits of laughter. By this point, I had blushed a deep vermillion and wanted nothing less than to find a secluded spot where I could embarrass myself no further. I got up, brushing myself down and avoiding eye contact with everybody. I side stepped a large crowd of people entering the cafeteria, desperately seeking out the exit. As soon as I had spotted it, I moved swiftly towards it, however, as I began to move, a hand grabbed my arm and began to pull me back into the midst of the cafeteria. I turned quickly, anger building throughout my body. And I was greeted with someone a little older than myself. Snow white skin, and a cold touch upon my arm.

"Are you alright?" The girl asked, her voice suited her perfectly, it sounded just like wind chimes.

"Yes, thankyou," I answered after a short pause, I was still astounded by her beauty.

"I'm Alice," She replied. "Alice Cullen.

**A/N - Ooooh, so, there you go! Review please :)**


	2. Meeting

**A/N; The first APOV at the start is slightly back in time, as you will probably gather. And this chapter has been beta-ed by my wonderful beta geeenah, thank you. Enjoy!**

* * *

**APOV**

_"Look, Jasper, I think that this is the only way," I said, trying to reason with him. "You don't know how happy they will be together, you haven't seen them like I have,."_

_"But you're interfering Alice," he replied. "And things don't often turn out well when you interfere." He began to stroke my hand and avoided looking into my eyes._

_"Jasper?" He continued to look down. "Jasper, look at me." Slowly, he lifted his gaze until his eyes met mine. "Are you worried about me getting hurt?"_

_"Hey, I thought I was supposed to be the empath!" He joked, while I continued to look at him expectantly and his face darkened. "You said that there were three other vampires travelling with Edward." I nodded, encouraging him to go on. "And we know that they aren't as... civilized as Edward is,." I nodded again. "Well, if the interference that you're getting in your visions was caused by them, then it could be something bad happening to-"_

_I gasped, interrupting him. Of course! How could I have been so stupid?! The bad tenor I was getting from the visions, the interference... The girl was going to be in trouble, so much so that it might make her future with Edward disappear._

_So much so that it might make_ her _future disappear._

_"That's _it_ Jasper! That's what is going to go wrong. She, the girl, could get hurt by one of those other vampires. I think that might be the decision that is interfering with my visions," I revealed as I looked down, sighing. "I have to go, Jasper; I can't let their future disappear."_

"_Very well," he replied. "Just... Be careful."_

_"I will," I vowed. "I love you.,"_

_"You too," he answered._

_We shared one last kiss before I ran away, down the stairs and out the door. I_ had_to succeed_.

~*~*~*~*~

* * *

**BPOV**

"Bella Swan," I replied as she removed her hand from my arm.

"Do you want to go somewhere else?" She asked, glancing around.

"Yeah, I was just leaving actually."

"A bit... overwhelmed?" she asked, leading me out of the cafeteria.

Alice led me out of the cafeteria and towards an open patch of grass. It was still drizzling slightly, so not many students were around.

"Umm, thanks, I guess," I mumbled nervously, unsure of what to say.

"No problem," she replied cheerily.

She turned to leave, waving slightly, as she skipped around the side of the cafeteria. I watched her go, dumbfounded at her grace. Others parted to let her through, but I could hardly blame them. She was slightly intimidating, despite her size.

The rest of my day passed in the same monotone in which it had begun. The most interaction was when a girl dramatically proclaimed herself to be Charlotte Brown, and proceeded to have a rather one sided conversation with herself during English; with me as the captive audience. Besides that, nothing else of note happened for the rest of the day. Few others spoke to me, and those that did seemed to take my bashfulness as being antisocial. As I'd hoped, I had escaped becoming the center of attention, even after my embarrassing accident. This meant that I could tell Charlie I had had a good day without having to rely on my tenuous skills of deception.

The walk home seemed to go quicker than the same trip I had made in the morning. I thought through what had happened today - my strange meeting, and farewell, with Alice in particular. I looked around and already found myself at the trees which marked only a short distance to Charlie's house. When I arrived, I let myself inside, using the key from under the eaves, since Charlie wasn't home yet. He had told me that he would be back around five o'clock so I took my bags upstairs into a room that I was still uncomfortable about calling my own, and started on my homework.

~*~*~*~*~*~

I heard the front door opening just as I was about to start working on some Science questions.

"You here, Bella?" Charlie's familiar voice shouted up the stairs.

"Yeah," I shouted back. _Where else would I be_, I thought. Surely he knew me well enough to know that I'm not that fast at making friends. I cooked dinner that night, enjoying the look of pleasure on Charlie's face as he saw the spaghetti bolognese put in front of him. We shared a little small talk, getting to know each other better. It seemed that he enjoyed nothing more than watching sports on the large flat screen TV in the lounge. This explained why slightly more money had been put into it than the rest of the house. I joined Charlie in the lounge that night and watched some baseball on the TV with him. I wouldn't put it as my first priority in the future, although spending some time with Charlie was definitely a good thing., I was so happy that I was getting to know him properly. I had seen him a few times over the years, but nothing with an element of permanence like this. I was really enjoying it.

I went up to bed early, hoping that I might have a slightly better day at school tomorrow.

~*~*~*~*~*~

I woke up early again but this time, it wasn't only overcast, it was also pouring rain. _Great, I was going to get soaked._ I dressed appropriately in an over sized jumper and jeans. On my way out, I grabbed my large rain jacket and an umbrella, hoping it would be enough to keep me reasonably dry. I stepped out the door and looked around at the transformation the landscape had taken. The trees that surrounded Charlie's house looked so much darker and more ominous, as if hiding an evil secret. The trees loomed up above my head and even the house itself didn't seem to look quite as homely as it had the night before. I began my walk to school, keeping a reasonable distance between myself and the road since I knew that it was quite likely I would get hit by some water otherwise.

I began the day a little more confidant because I now knew where all the classrooms were and wouldn't need anybody to help me. I still kept my head down most of the time, not wanting to draw unnecessary attention to myself while also keeping an eye out for any potential dangers which could cause me to fall again in public. I made my way to my first lesson, keeping to the sides of the corridors, in the hope I wouldn't run into anyone, preoccupied as I was. I made it there without any catastrophes, and so the second day began. This time, I managed to make it through the day even more eventfully. I tripped twice - once into a girl's locker, sending her and her friends into fits of giggles and another time into a bunch of senior boys, causing me to blush even further than I had before. They all laughed boisterously at me while I tried to find an escape from their close-knit circle without raising my head. I ended up spending most of my lunch hour in the library, hoping it would be an accident-free zone where I could relax.

I was making my way there when I spotted my saviour from the day before, Alice, talking to someone in the parking lot. It was a tall, lean boy who dwarfed Alice completely in comparison. He had shaggy blonde hair which was slightly longer than most boys. They looked a little like they were arguing from their facial expressions. However, when the boy touched Alice's arm, you could tell from the way she calmed down immediately that he had a lot of influence over her. She leaned into him then, and they hugged. I felt like I was intruding at that point and began to take a step away, but Alice called me.

"Hey Bella!" she yelled and I could hear the smile in her voice without even looking. With Alice, you just knew it was there.

"Hey," I said, turning around to face her. The boy had disappeared while I wasn't looking.

"You lived through the cafeteria experience today then?"

"Ummm, no," I replied. "Actually, I didn't really make it through my first lesson, so I decided not to risk it today. I'm heading for the library."

"Hey, mind if I join you," she asked, suddenly so excited that she was hopping from one foot to the other.

"Sure, I guess. I won't be much fun though. I feel like reading right now."

"No problem, I have an assignment I have to do anyway," she said.

We walked in a comfortable silence to the library. For someone who was so hyper the majority of the time, it seemed strange that she could be quiet as well.

Once inside, I shot straight for the Brontë section, picking out Wuthering Heights. As I turned around, I saw Alice raising an eyebrow.

"What?" I asked, already knowing what she was going to say. I was used to people commenting on my strange reading habits.

"Nothing, nothing," she murmured, turning away to get something out of her bag.

We spent the rest of lunch in silence, lost in our own little worlds. I nearly asked her a number of times about the strange boy I had seen her with, but in the end I decided that I hadn't really known her long enough to ask something so personal.

We parted with a simple goodbye, and I was touched again by the aura of mystery that she carried with her. I couldn't put my finger on what exactly caused me to think this but I just felt it being around her sometimes. It made me feel even more drawn to her than I was already.

I had gym last, something that I believed counted less as a class and more like a form of torture. I made my way there grudgingly, hoping that I wouldn't have to join in as it was my first lesson and I didn't have a uniform yet. On the way there, I went through different arguments about how unsuitable my outfit was for playing sports. By the time I got to the gym, I had many courses of action in my head to counteract anything that the coach might say.

~*~*~*~*~

An hour later, I made my way out pleased at having succeeded with my plan. I made my way outside, glad that it had finally stopped raining and the sun had even come out in places. Once under the cover of the trees and out of sight of any pupils, I began to run. My day, despite the mishaps at the beginning, had gone relatively well, and I felt so joyous.

But, of course, I should have known that it would not be a good idea to travel at anything above walking pace. I tripped over a rock and went flying further into the woods, landing at the corner of a small meadow. I got up slowly, inspecting myself. I had a cut just above my right collarbone, beginning to ooze blood. I could only see a small speck of red in my periphery, however, I could also smell it. I began to feel a little light headed as the rusty scent over-came me.

I sat down slowly against a tree, waiting for it to pass. I heard the bushes at the other side of the meadow rustle, and then I saw a man emerge slowly. Bronze hair peeked out first, but the rest of his body soon followed. His nostrils were flared and he had a mixed expression upon his face. Part of it looked like he had reached heaven, the rest hinted at pure fury. He took a step towards me, but further than any man I had seen could, and faster than my eyes could follow. I began to stand up slowly, trembling slightly.

* * *

**A/N; Know who that could be? Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**


	3. Collision Course

**APOV**

_I __watched her walk away from the school buildings with an unexplained sense of trepidation in the pit of my stomach. She had a slight bounce in her step and looked a lot happier than I had seen her before. Someone wrapped their arms around me, making me jump._

_"What's the matter Alice?" Jasper asked, kissing my hair lightly. I could see some of the girls glaring at me._

_"I don't know," I answered, my voice troubled. "Something isn't right..."_

_"What sort of something?" he asked, walking around so he was in front of me. When I continued to stare at the floor, concentrating, he ducked into my view, forcing me to look into his eyes._

_"Something to do with Bella. Something is_ going_to go wrong. I just know it."_

_"But do you know what?" he replied._

_"No... but I can feel that something is."_

_"Let's go home, it's not safe to search for visions here," he said, lowering his voice. Although the parking lot had cleared, he was right. It wasn't safe to have this conversation here._

_"Very well." I sighed. He took my hand and we walked towards Emmett's truck. He had lent it to us for the day as neither me nor Jasper had a car yet._

_Once in, Jasper began speeding towards our nearby house. We lived on the opposite side of Dickinson from Bella. Throughout the journey, I searched through Bella's future, trying to find the source of my worry. I couldn't see anything. That evening she was going to have a take-away pizza with Charlie as he insisted that she should take a break at least once a week from the cooking. She was going to struggle on an algebra question and ask Charlie for help but he wouldn't know what to do either. She would change her mind and begin an English assignment instead and she would enjoy writing it..._

_Then everything changed._

_The vision that I had just been watching disappeared. I searched back, looking for the interruption. I was met with Edward's face, creeping closer and closer to Bella who was slowly standing up. I could feel the intense blood lust that Edward was feeling which was worsened by the relatively large cut on her collarbone that was oozing blood._

_Her future disappeared._

"Stop!" _I screamed at Jasper, terrified. I wrenched open the door, pulling it of its hinges and took off running. I heard Jasper's desperate pleas of confusion fade into the distance as I pushed myself further and further, faster and faster._

_I saw how this would ruin Edward. He would become deeply depressed, seeing how heartbroken I was over Bella. He wouldn't join our coven, he would run away._

_His future disappeared too._

"No!"_I growled. Having already seen the possible future, I wanted desperately to live it. Far away, I could hear the sound of Jasper's pursuit, but I couldn't stop to explain._

_I was running out of time._

**BPOV**

I saw his foot move backwards, and then all of a sudden, he was at the opposite side of the meadow. He looked fiercely conflicted, but it looked like he was giving in to one of his options. Suddenly, his head snapped up, looking at me in the eyes. They were a dark burgundy color and seemed to be turning black slowly. A slow smile spread across his face and it was just as beautiful as it was terrifying. I felt both drawn to him and petrified of him.

His nostrils flared again, and he disappeared. I searched frantically for him, wondering he had he moved so quickly. No human could simply disappear that quickly. Then, something slammed into me hard. I heard a number of ribs snapping as I collided with the tree behind me. The man I had seen a few minutes ago was pushing me into it with incredible strength. He grabbed my collarbone roughly slamming it harder back into the tree again and I cried out in pain. He bared his teeth, brought his face down to my neck, and I felt his cool breath tickle my bare skin. I whimpered in terror, closing my eyes to try and escape. _What _was this man?

"Edward, stop!" a familiar voice screamed. I struggled to open my eyes but the pain was beginning to overwhelm me, I could hardly breathe but I was determined to see who the voice belonged to. Although my vision was blurred, but I managed to make out a small figure with a spiky mass of brown hair on her head.

Alice?

The man, Edward I assumed, paused for a moment and turned slowly to look at Alice, confusion flooding his face. I couldn't hold on any longer so my eyes slid closed.

"Bella! Stay with me, please... please," Alice was sobbing now, her voice hopeless.

I felt the pressure on my shoulders weaken, until it disappeared altogether. I crumpled at the bottom of the tree, my legs unable to keep me upright any longer. The pain was excruciating, but I couldn't find my lips to cry out. I felt as if I was suffocating under a great pressure that had fallen on me, a prisoner in my own mind with no means of escape.

I didn't hear Alice approach, but suddenly, she was next to me. "Stay with me Bella, don't you dare give up."

I vaguely wondered why she cared about me so much. I barely knew her and yet she sounded like a heartbroken best friend.

"I'm going to take you to someone who can help," Alice said. "But you're going to have to try and stay with me Bella. Don't give up. I know you're a fighter  
and I know you can do this."

She picked me up gently to her chest. Though, despite her care, my ribs protested further and it was getting hard to breathe. Only short, shallow breaths could  
make their way to my lungs, and even that caused agonizing pain.

As I put my focus on my breathing, I noticed that we began to move, slowly at a running pace, but it got faster and faster until it felt like we were flying.

"I don't know if you can hear me Bella, but keep your eyes closed. I know you have questions that we're going to have to answer, but now is not  
the right time for that."

I wondered briefly who she meant by 'we' but let it go. The wind rushing past me slowed, and I began to hear voices. Distant at first, but growing louder, it  
seemed some of them were shouting.

"You brought her _HERE_?!" a woman's voice shouted, getting closer as she walked towards Alice. I wanted to cringe away from her, but I could barely breathe let alone think about moving.

"Calm down, Rosalie, this is not the time for this conversation." a calming, male voice said. "Take her upstairs into my study and put her on the bed, I'll be up in a minute."

"Yes, Carlisle." Alice said.

I couldn't hold on any longer, the voices began to fade away and I couldn't make out words anymore. The cool touch of Alice's arms soon began to fade too. And, mercifully, the ravaging pain began to abate. I felt like I was floating on water, peaceful at last.

~*~*~

"... Four broken ribs, a broken collarbone and a punctured lung," a man's voice dragged me unwillingly out of unconsciousness. After a moment, I managed to vaguely recognize the tone of it. It was from a distant memory, or perhaps a dream.

The next voice, however, I recognized immediately. "I should have gotten to her quicker," Alice said, sounding dejected.

"You did everything in your power," the man replied gently. "After all, she is still alive and she will survive, it will just take time."

I struggled to open my eyes, hoping that I could solve the mystery as to what the man's name was. I blinked a few times, clearing my vision. I found myself in an unfamiliar room. Judging by the large bookshelves that lined each wall, it was a study stacked from floor to ceiling with books. I was laying on a bed that was familiar to me due to my frequent hospital visits. The railings and plastic mattress confirmed my suspicions. Alice and whomever she was talking to were nowhere to be seen in the room, so I assumed that they were outside the door.

I began to sit up but was stopped by the agonizingly torturous pain that ripped through my torso. The shock of it made me gasp aloud and I fell back onto  
the mound of pillows behind me, breathing shallowly. I had obviously not been quiet during this discovery as Alice, and the man she was talking with entered. She rushed to my side quickly, stroking my hand from where it was gripping the railings tightly; I barely noticed how cold her touch was before.

"Bella, I need you to try and slow your breathing down for me please," the man said anxiously. A small part of my mind that wasn't focused on the pain  
wondered idly how he knew my name, but I deemed it unimportant at this time. However, at that moment, even though I knew it was  
completely inappropriate, I suddenly remembered his name. I tried to do what he said and eventually managed to slow my breathing down to a normal rhythm. Then I began to feel nervous because I was yet to remember, or discover, how I had got into this house. I looked up to ask Carlisle, who was standing to my right, all of the questions that were flooding my mind. As soon as as I looked at his face, I suddenly remembered everything.

"Did...tha...did..." I stuttered, words failing me. It couldn't have possibly happened, could it? I cowered away from both of them, trying to turn onto my side, only to discover a tube coming out of the right side of my chest.

"Careful," Carlisle warned. "You punctured a lung and that's draining the air out of your chest. If it comes out, your lung could collapse again."

I stared at him in disbelieving shock, not knowing how to reply.

"Yes, it did all happen," Alice said quietly and I snapped my eyes to her immediately. "You didn't imagine it."

"What do you think you are _DOING_?!" a woman's voice yelled and was rapidly growing closer. I could tell she was livid simply from the tone of her voice. Despite my previous reaction, I grabbed Alice's hand which was lying limply on the bed railings. She was the only comfort I had right now

Carlisle moved towards the door just as it burst open. A beautiful woman stepped into the room; she had long, flowing blonde hair and a figure that didn't  
seem possible to exist in real life; it was too perfect. She was everything that any girl wanted to be summed up in one person. She would have been even more gorgeous if not for the furious expression on her face. I couldn't work out whether she was directing her glare towards me or Alice, but I shrunk back anyway, trying to be as small as possible while ignoring the pain it caused.

"This isn't all about you, you know," she shouted as Carlisle tried to guide her out the door. "Surprisingly, you having a new best friend isn't the most important thing in the world," she exclaimed sarcastically as Carlisle ushered her out a little more forcefully.

I didn't realize that I was shaking until Alice leaned over to give me an awkward hug. I clung to her tightly because I was utterly terrified. Partly because of what had just happened, but also because I still didn't understand the events of last night that Alice claimed to be true. None of it made sense within the realms of logical thinking, and I usually refused to accept anything that went beyond those realms. However, I couldn't determine an explanation for what I had witnessed.

"Can you tell me?" I began. "What... happened yesterday? I don't understand any of it."

"Well, technically, it wasn't yesterday..."

"What?!" I exclaimed. "What day is it? How long have I been here?... Where am I?"

"It's Sunday and you've been out for two days," she said slowly, watching for any signs that I might lose it. "And you're at my house."

"Okay..." I replied. "So-". But just as I was about to start my barrage of questions, I remembered something abruptly, something that would have probably  
occurred to me a lot earlier had I not been under the influence of a sedative. All I was able to choke out in a horrified whisper was "Charlie-" before  
Alice's eyes grew wide and she interrupted me.

"I think you need to sleep some more now," Alice whispered and as she said it and I realized how weary I was. My eyes slid closed by their own accord. Before I fell into unconsciousness, I heard Alice say something else which only perplexed me further.

"Carlisle, we need to discuss how to tell her. Or rather if we should."

"She's going to be staying here," Carlisle replied. "We have to tell her the truth."

~*~*~*~

"Emmett, go!" Alice said furiously.

"But-" someone, I guessed Emmett, protested.

"But nothing. She's waking up right now and you will scare her if you're here when she opens her eyes."

"Fine," he said sulkily. "But bring her down to meet everyone soon."

"When she's better," Alice compromised.

At that point, embarrassingly, my stomach rumbled, giving away my eavesdropping. They both laughed softly. Alice must have pushed Emmett, because all I heard was, "alright, alright I'm going. Yeesh."

I opened my eyes, my mind coming around slowly. I saw Alice lurking in the corner, looking uncertain. Just looking at her worried expression made me  
angrier.

"Are you going to tell me what is going on or are you going to keep me prisoner until I work it out?" I demanded. My patience had left me.

"I-well." She paused and took a deep breath. "I can tell you but-"

"But what?" I demanded while sitting up slowly. It was still painful, but not nearly as much as last time. "You have told me nothing about where I am apart from the fact that it's your house. And, what about what happened to me? You obviously know who it was and... What he was..." I could remember all too clearly how strong he was and the colour of his eyes...

"And that can all be answered by me saying one word," she mumbled so quietly that I wasn't sure if I was meant to hear. "But I must know something first." She strode across the room quickly and then ducked down beside me. "Bella, do you trust me?"

I gazed into her golden eyes. I immediately understood that this was a serious question and not simply how someone might ask it before you fell backwards into their arms. I had always been bad at that, stopping myself by putting my foot back before they could catch me. Trusting someone meant that you depended on them and I hated depending on anyone. I felt physically incapable of doing it.

But was Alice different?

From the moment I had met her, I had known she wasn't ordinary - that much was clear from her beauty. But did that mean I could trust her? She certainly hadn't been honest with me but she seemed so trustworthy without having to even prove it.

"Yes," I decided finally, "but you must tell me everything in order to prove to me that I have made the correct choice."

She nodded slowly and then looked at me. "You're very mature for your age, you know," she noted. "But this, what I'm going to tell you," she shook her  
head again, "I don't know if you will be able to accept this." She walked across the room, back into the corner and took a seat on the chair behind a large  
desk. "You see, I think you've already realized I'm... different." I nodded, it was obvious. "But me and the rest of my family," she looked me over and took a deep breath. "And Edward," she said quickly, looking for a reaction. I kept my face blank, despite the terror that the name instilled in me. "And there are others too. We aren't... well we aren't..." she took another deep breath. "We aren't human."

I gaped at her. Many questions forced their way into the forefront of my mind but I couldn't remember how to use my vocal chords, so they went unspoken. What _do_ you say when someone springs something like that upon you? So I did the only thing I felt capable of. I burst out laughing.

"I knew I'd like her." I heard someone yell from downstairs. It sounded like Emmett.

Alice continued to stare at me, her expression also amused. I sobered up after a while.

"You're... Being serious?" My mind couldn't wrap itself around the concept.

"Deadly so." Her eyes flashed as she said the first word.

"So if you're not... human," I struggled to get that sentence out. I still couldn't believe what she had just told me. "Then what-" I was interrupted by Alice's gasp. Her eyes were unfocused and her expression was uneasy.

"Alice?" I asked, concerned. "Alice what is it?"

Her eyes focused again and she fixed them upon me. She looked unsure of what to do. "Just... stay there," She said hurriedly, quickly disappearing out of the room.

"Where do you expect me to go?" I mumbled to myself but I swore I heard somebody laugh downstairs. I could hear some commotion below me. They were obviously panicking.

Carlisle burst into the room with a calm expression. I could tell he was hiding something.

"What's going on?" I asked. I was fed up of not being told anything. He had obviously read this on my face because he sighed and the calm mask slipped, showing that he was worried.

"Edward's coming."

"You have to tell me now, you know," I said, looking deep into his golden eyes. "I need to know how to feel about that. How to feel about any of this," I said, flailing my arms around uselessly while trying to emphasize my point.

"I realize that," Carlisle said, bowing his head. "You see, we would have told you right away but Alice wasn't sure how you would... react. And she didn't want to lose you. You mean a lot to her." He looked straight at me now, with a serious expression. "She's pretty sure you will not be affected now, but, before I tell you the whole truth..." he smiled slightly, and I returned the gesture. Something about Carlisle made me feel safe around him. "...you need to know that none of us are anything to be afraid of. We don't hurt anybody, I can promise you that."

"Okay, I... I trust you." Despite what I had felt earlier about agreeing to Alice's condition, the words came easier. I looked at Carlisle and instantly knew that he was a trustworthy person.

"Good." He paused, and took a deep breath. "Now, stories, fairy tales if you will, teach you things. They teach you to dream, to experience a world outside of your own. To escape from reality. But, such fantasies must have origins, don't you think? No one person could have such a vivid imagination to create a world so differently than our own. They must have known that some of these tales or elements of them, existed in reality. Us, my family and I, along with many others, are indeed characters from such tales. Monsters in most," he said in disgust. I, personally, couldn't imagine a world where Carlisle or Alice could be classed as monsters; they were too beautiful, too gentle to be worthy of that description. "We are what some call the 'Cold Ones'. Others know us as the 'Danag', the 'Estrie', the 'Upier', 'Varacolaci', 'Nelapsi', 'Stregoni Benefici'. I could go on forever. Lies have been spun and names created, but you would probably recognize us by the more widely known name." I had become so entranced by his story that it shocked me back into the present when he paused. I waited, with bated breath for him to continue. He looked deep into my eyes as if he was searching for something. "Vampire," he said simply.

Silence stretched between us while my mind poured over each detail he had just spoken to me. What he had said about fairy tales especially. He was right in saying that they would normally be portrayed as monsters, evil monsters of the night that were blood thirsty creatures and survived off the essence of innocent people's lives. But, Carlisle had promised that neither he nor the rest of his family would hurt me and, despite how stupid I was potentially being, I believed him. The way that both he and Alice had been nervous about telling me only helped me to believe I was making the right decision. They obviously thought I would go running and screaming out of the door, which should have been a normal reaction. But I wasn't what anybody might class as normal and despite what I felt I _should _be doing, the majority of my mind found that that was a ridiculous reaction.

"_Yes!_" Alice yelled, bursting through the door. She literally danced across the room, coming to a standstill in front of me and gave me a gentle hug. "You're staying!" she said, grinning.

"We've contacted your father as well," Carlisle said. "He is reassured that you are safe and well." I sighed in relief, glad to know that Charlie would no longer be worrying about me.

"What did Edward want?" I asked in a small voice.

"He wanted to see if you were okay," Alice said seriously, when my eyes snapped to her. "And talk to me."

"Will you see him again?" I asked, still in a quiet voice.

"Yes," Alice replied in a voice that convinced me that she was hiding something. "We shall all be seeing him again, soon." My feelings about this were split perfectly in two. A part of me was terrified. Carlise and Alice, and as far as I knew, the other Cullens, had given me no reason to fear them. However, Edward, had given me plently. The other half of my mind was furious. He had dragged me into a world which could only have irrevocably changed my life, there was no way I could continue living a normal life after discovering what I had. Not to mention the physical pain and damge he had caused me.

"Well," Carlisle began, "I'm afraid that it's time for things that are a little less pleasant."

I looked at him, wide eyed.

Both he and Alice laughed. "I need to remove your chest drain," he explained, still chuckling.

"Oh," I replied, both embarrassed and scared.

"Don't worry. I'm going to put you under an anesthetic so you won't feel anything."

I looked away when he put the needle in and talked to Alice instead. She told me about the many things she had done over the course of her life, the practical jokes that Emmett liked to play and about how he would enjoy having a new target. She also said how much more she had to tell me about the vampire world. I felt like I was having an out of body experience. Nothing felt real to me.

And, as the drug began to seep through my blood stream, making me numb, I knew that I would enjoy my time with the Cullens, no matter what they may be.


	4. Sorry

Sorry, I'm afraid this is not a chapter but one of those highly annoying but incredibly important Author's Notes.

As this story has now found it's way onto Twilighted (Yay!) I have decided that I want the chapters to catch up there before I start posting new ones. I know that it _is_ quite unfair to everyone that reads the story here for me to do that. But at Twilighted the chapters become better and I will, therefore, adapt the chapters here so they are at the same standard. Chapter two has just been posted there and I am soon gong to add number three into the validation queue. Chapter four is being written and will be posted ASAP. In the meantime I have followed various other authors and got a twitter specifically for my writing, the link is on my profile. I will tell you there how my writing is going, where to find new stories and, at the moment, how long it will be till you get chapter four.

I'm sorry for any disappointment this may cause, but thank you everyone for your ongoing support of my writing. Also, come and talk to me on the BOTLIM thread over at twilighted, the link is also on my profile.

~Hannah


	5. Leave it Alone

I am re-writing this story. I have looked back upon some of it over the past few days and decided that I want to do better for the story line. I want to write the entire thing much, _much _better. I will not, however, re-write it under this account or even the same title. I have changed the email address that everything relating to this account goes to so, sending me any messages regarding this will not reach me. If you look carefully enough I'm sure that you will be able to find the story again, if you want to that is. I'm sorry that this has all gone so horribly wrong. But I just need to have a fresh start.

**Remember; do not send me any messages regarding this matter to this account. They will not reach me.**

I hope that you do find the story again simply because you have all been so amazingly supportive.

~Hannah


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